# Ruby Rfd Death222

Лев Переводчик Шкловский

49

a large, cozy room heated by roaring logs in a huge

fireplace.

In a rocker by the fire was a gaunt man beneath a lap

robe. His face was a sickly, sallow color, and his tangle

of wiry gray hair was an invitation for nesting birds. He

was approaching his sixtieth birthday, but he looked an

ailing twenty years older than that.

When he looked up, his eyes were dark and caver-

nous, but they were also alert, and they assessed all of

Carter in one penetrating look.

"Ah, Caner. Please sit down. You'll forgive my

rudeness at not standing. I must conserve as much

strength as possible. You see, I am dying."

Ilse Beddick poured tea for herself and Vinnick, and

found brandy for Carter. As she did this, she related the

night's events at the lodge,

"Yes, when I heard you outside, I figured that there

had been difficulties. You see, Carter, there are factions

in my country, indeed in my own service, who would

dearly love to bring me down."

guessed as much," the Killmaster replied. "But

"I shall get to that, soon," Vinnick said. "In the

meantime, how much did my sister tell you? Oh, by the

way, if you wish to smoke, please do. Ilse, find him an

ashtray. "

Carter eased into Lorena Zorkova's story and

speeded up, hitting just the high points as he came to the

end. He thought the man had fallen asleep, but when he

finished, Vinnick's head came up and his eyes were as

bright and penetrating as before.

"Good," he munnured. "When the Soviets moved in

50


50

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

to establish the Communist party, I joined immediately."

Here he paused, a raspy laugh escaping his lips. "I was,

you might say, a ruthless, devoted advcxate of the new

regime."

'*And you became one of its most rx»werful and

feared men," Caner offered. "Why?"

"Two reasons ... survival, and revenge. Now, an an-

swer to your earlier question. I was one of the men who

advocated against complete submission to Moscow. To

do that, we aligned ourselves with Red China as much

or more than with the Kremlin. Because of this, Roma-

nia still has some degree of independence."

A little bell went off in Carter's head. "All the infor-

mation you passed to us through your sister?"

"Exactly. Astute of you at last. All of it, was a detri-

ment to the other Eastern bloc countries and Moscow.

That in itself was a form of revenge for what the Bol-

sheviks did to my father. My sister was my eyes and

ears in the West, as well as my conduit to you. The

operation has worked quite well. It has also given my

sister a tktter life in the West, Ilse, more tea, please."

The woman was at his side at once. Carter studied

the two of them. There was obviously a great deal of

warmth and affection there. Vinnick sensed Carter's

look, and smiled.

"The nurse, Nanya? Ilse is her daughter. When the

time comes, Ilse will join my sister in the West."

"I take it, then," Carter said, ' 'that of your

health, our little operation is about over?"

"You are quite right. That is why I sent for you. I

wish, for a favor, to put into your hands, Carter, one

very large bulk of information. I am sure that your peo-

RUBY RED DEATH

51


51

ple know that for years the Bulgarians have been putting

assassination teams into the West?"

Carter nodded. "It's pan Of the KGB's system to take

international heat off them. Ihe Bulgarians are more

than happy to become Moscow's First Directorate trig-

ger people."

s 'Yes, quite so," Vinnick said, nodding. ' There is a

large segment of the Bulgarian Dajnavna Sigurnost who

revel in creative killing. I have the assumed names, oc-

cupations, and addresses of each and every team."

It was all Carter could do to maintain his even ex-

pression and his relaxed m»sition in the chair. Already

the Bulgarian secret police had pulled off too many po-

litical assassinations in the West. It was known that

when Moscow wanted someone out of the way, .the Bul-

garians did the work.

Information of this magnitude would be-invaluable.

He knew that Washington would go for it at any price.

lhe Killmaster kept his voice calm. "And the favor?"

The penetrating eyes gazed steadily at Carter. ' 'The

night we fled, when Nanya rescued those papers the

Soviet sergeant tned to bum?"

remember," Carter said.

"I kept those documents all these years. Eventually,

by digging through old Nazi records, Russian files, and

current computer records, I was able to piece everything

together. • e"

Carter listened to it all, his admiration for the older

man's tenacity growing with each word.

Two of the documents belonged to an SS officer and

his secretary They were found in an ambushed car with

their driver. Another document was the military identi-

fication of the sergeant who had led that Russian patrol,

52


52

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

Boris Glaskov. And there was one more passport, It wa:

Portuguese, identifying one Greta Bolivar.

"Over the years, I dug and dug. I think that Graf vor

Wassner was on the way to steal my family's jewels tha

night. I think he was intending to run, but was am

bushed by a Russian patrol under the command of Ser

geant Boris Glaskov."

"And Glaskov went after the jewels himself," Carte

offered.

"Exactly. And when he got them, he destroyed hi

own

' That left the Bolivar

Vinnick nodded. "It took me years to backtrack th

name. Greta Kraussen was an Abwehr agent in Lisb01

during the war. She married Heinrich Bolivar in 1942

Because Bolivar's mother was German, Greta enliste

him in the cause. In 1943, they both disappeared. Thei

disappearance was reported by their contact officer a

that time, one Graf von Wassner."

"He killed them himself and kept the passports."

Vinnick nodded. "I believe so. I also think Glasko

escaped to Lisbon with Heinrich Bolivar's passport. Bu

for years I could not trace a Heinrich Bolivar. Then I gc

a break. About two years ago, I came across this." Th

frail fingers passed across a dog-eared magazine t

Carter

Carter thumbed through the pages. It was turned t

an article about mountain rebels in Uruguay. It seem

the rebels had come across the border into Argentin

and kidnalpl three wealthy ranchers and businessmer

The three men had been rescued, and the leaders of th

rebel group were hanged.

There was a photograph of the three men.

RUBY RED DEATH

53


53

Vinnick pointed a shaky finger at the man in the

center of the picture. "His name is Enrique Bolivar."

Carter glanced up. '*Enrique is Spanish or Portuguese

for Henry."

"Or, in German, Heinrich." Vinnick smiled. s 'It took

a great deal more sleuthing, but I found the application

for name change and a new passport in the records of a

small village in the Algarve. Enrique Bolivar is Boris

Glaskov."

Carter took his time replying. "He seems to have

done rather well."

"Quite well, with my family fortune. He has been

selling the jewels off one by one over the years to sup-

port the building of a sizable empire in Portugal and

Argentina."

Carter glanced from the magazine to Vinnick. "And

now you want revenge."

Vinnick sat back in his chair with a deep sigh and

produced a short, slender cigar. Ilse Beddick was on her

feet at once.

"Vadim, the doctors ..

He waved her away with a smile, and let Caner light

the cigar for him. "Revenge? Perhaps. But more. I have

learned a great deal about Glaskov/Bolivar. He was a

despicable man the night he had my parents murdered

and, in turn, murdered his own comrades. In the years

since, he has become an even more despicable man. He

deserves to die."

Carter stood and began to leisurely pace the room. "I

have killed many times, Vinnick. But I'm not a paid

assassin, even for the prize you offer."

"J am dying, Carter," came the measured reply.

"When I go, my sister will be alone. As you already

54


54

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

know, she is not wealthy, The fees we have charged you

for information have not been great."

"You want the jewels," Carter said.

Vinnick nodded. "Many of them have tEen sold, but

even more are left. One gem alone is worth a fortune. It

is an enormous ruby, called the Heartstone. Because of

its great worth, the Heartstone is the symbol of our heri-

tage. It is the crown jewel of the houses of Cimpeni and

Romanovsky. If only that one stone could re-

turned .. He stopped with a shrug.

Carter continued to pace. For what Vinnick was of-

fering, he wasn't asking a great deal. He was sure

Washington would go along with the deal.

"Obviously, you have a plan," Carter said at last.

' 'I do," Vinnick replied at once. "Bolivar is preparing

to sell off the rest of the jewels. Through the years, he

has tEen dealing with three men. This is always done

through intermediaries. Recently, Bolivar contacted all

three of these men. 'Ihey will be going to Argentina

soon to bid on the jewels."

"Why is he selling?" Carter asked.

"Simple. His wealth and his power are solid now. He

no longer has need of them as security, and the cash

they will bring will secure him even greater power."

"It's logical," Caner agreed. "I assume I will take the

place of one of the jewel merchants?"

"Exactly. His name is Fabian Huzel. He lives quietly

in Amsterdam. He looks and dresses like a man of

meager means, but he is one of a handful of men in the

world who could arrange the financing for a buy of this

size. Probably a third of the stolen jewels in the world

pass through Huzel's hands."

RUBY RED DEATH

55


55

Carter listened as the old man explained how the plan

would unfold.

assume you have contacts in Amsterdam who

could help you make all this

Carter ncxided. '"lhere would be a cost factor, but

yes, there are such people."

S Good. One more thing. Lorena will go with you."

There it was. Carter looked from Vadim Vinnick to

the woman and back again. No, he wouldn't required

to kill Enrique Bolivar. As soon as they had the jewels,

Lorena herself would kill him.

ney knew his thoughts, but said nothing.

"All right," Carter said, "I'll do it."

lhe tension disappeared from the room. Ilse Beddick

produced a file on Fabian Huzel, and photographs. She

also gave Carter the vast research file that had been

anussed on Enrique Bolivar. Together, the three of them

went over this material for the next two hours. At that

time Vinnick called a halt.

"Needless to say, with my enemies in the Hungarian

secret police knowing about you, it will be impossible

for you to return to the lodge. You will stay here to-

night, and we will continue in the moming."

Ilse nodded. "Tomorrow I will make arrangements to

get you safely out of the country," she said.

She showed Carter to a comfortable room on the sec-

ond floor. Everything he needed was there, even a

change of clothes and a razor.

The whole thing lcx»ked like one very large setup.

think," Caner said, 'that you and Vinnick tipped

off the Hungarians that an American was coming over. "

Ilse smiled. "You are as astute as your reputation

says you are."

56


56

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

"What would have happened if I had not agreed to

this?"

She shrugged. "Your body would have been turned

over to the authorities here after I killed you trying to

escape. Gocxf night."

Carter undressed and lay on the bed, but he knew he

wouldn't be able to get much sleep.


SIX

ne place was called the Rotten Apple, and it

smelled worse than its namesake. It was on an alley

with no name off Dream Street in one of the worst red-

light districts in Hamburg.

They sat at a comer table looking out at the dancers

moving frantically on a postage-stamp-size dance floor.

The music was loud, pounding the walls, and, Carter

was sure, damaging his ears.

Sitting across in a pair of hip-hugger jeans, a purple

shirt open to expose his chest, and a pair of Gucci

loafers, was Count Otto von Krumm. Otto was some-

where close to forty, claimed to be thirty, and bragged

that he hadn't bedded a womm over eighteen for twenty

years.

Otto von Krumm's father had tx•en in the SS. He had

survived the war with only the family castle near the

village of Bundesdorg, on the West German/ Nether-

58

57


58

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

lands frontier. Eventually the old man had died, still

saluting the Fuhrer. He had left young Otto the castle,

the grounds around it, and a brilliant criminal mind.

For the first thirty years of his life, Otto had stolen

everything he could get his hands on and invested it

wisely. When he was rich enough, he retired to become

an aging hippie who liked a challenge now and then.

Quite often Carter offered that challenge.

Von Krumm leaned over and shouted into Carter's

ear. "I like it here."

"I can see that," Carter replied. "Can we talk in front

The German threw an affectionate arm around the

voluptuous blonde who sat trside him, his hand acci-

dentally sliding downward to partially cover a breast.

•ne blonde smiled at Otto. It was an animal smile,

earthy and anticipatory, Carter noted that she didn't

have any pupils in her eyes.

Carter tried again. "l said, can we talk in front of

"Of course," von Krumm t*llowed, and grinned.

"She dcksn't speak any English at all. Even her German

is terrible. But she has the strongest thighs you have

ever seen. They are really quite remarkable. Dear me,

look at that. And she seems quite taken with you, Ni-

cholas."

Caner followed his stare toward the knot of dancers

on the floor. A couple seemed to have taken up resi-

dence nght in front of their table.

ne man was uninteresting, small and swarthy with a

moronic face. But the woman was startling. She was

barefoot, with long legs and a hard figure ensheathed in

a shimmering Iamé dress. Her platinum hair was cut

RUBY RED DEATH

short and contrasted sharply with a deep tan.

59


59

Each time the couple made a revolving turn, the

woman smiled at Carter and ran her tongue along her

lower lip.

"Very nice," von Krumm remarked. "I would look

into that if I were you in a manner of speaking, of

course." He laughed, a deep, rumbling laugh.

Carter got his lips as close as possible to Otto's ear.

"Can we talk?"

"Must we? I assume it concerns money."

"Jt could."

'Gruesome but necessary, I suppose," von Krumm

sighed.

"Somewhere else," Carter insisted.

"Very well, we'll go to my flat," Otto rose and nod-

ded toward the platinum blonde. "Why don't you ask

her along? We'll have a little entertainment after we talk

business. "

"No. Otto."

"Very well, follow us to the flat."

"I have the address," Carter said. "I'll meet you

there."

Von Krumm led the way out, holding the blonde by

the hand. With one eye Carter was watching the shift of

her hips as she moved. With the other eye he was

watching the hard-eyed little man leave his platinum-

haired dancing partner.

Outside, they turned right. Halfway to the comer,

Carter whispered, "When you get to your car, drive

around the block and keep circling until you see me in

your rearview mirror."

Von Krumm nodded and Carter darted into the alley

adjoining the club. He made his way around to the rear

60


60

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

and walked into the kitchen. A burly man at the door

stood to block his progress. Carter waved a fifty-mark

bill in his face and he was waved on in.

Ihe Rotten Apple didn't much care if you paid at the

front or the rear for entrance, just that you paid.

He was halfway through the knot of dancers when he

saw the platinum blonde on a stool at the end of the bar,

alone.

"Hi," he said, moving in beside her, close.

"You," she murmured. "I thought you left." Her ac-

cent was Belgian or French.

"I came back. Where's your tX)Yfriend?"

"Boyfriend? Haven't got one yet. You interested?"

"The short, dark little guy with the wilted eyes.

Where is he?"

'*Don't know, don't care," she said, running her hand

over Carter's crotch. '*Want to dance?"

"No." Carter laid his hand on the inside of her thigh,

squeezed, hard.

'*Owww, damn you, that hurts!" she exclaimed.

"It can hurt worse. Who is he?"

"Don't know, I swear. He gave me some marks to

dance with him. Said he wanted to dance right by your

table. That's it, I swear."

Carter believed her. He off another fifty and

stuffed it into her cleavage. 'Thanks. I like your hair."

The big one at the rear door just shook his head when

Carter exited after so short a time. He moved through

the alleys until he was four blocks away, on the street

where he had parked the rental car near Otto's Mer-

cedes. Keeping to the shadows, he moved up the street

until he was in the same block, then darted into a door-

way. He had already spotted the little man slouched be-

RUBY RED DEATH

hind the wheel of a beige Audi parked at the corner.

A hand dropped on Carter's shoulder and he froze.

"You looking for fun, darling?"

61


61

hind the wheel of a beige Audi parked at the corner.

A hand dropped on Carter's shoulder and he froze.

"You looking for fun, darling?"

He turned slowly, letting the stored-up air in his

lungs escape with a hiss.

She was on the wrong side of forty, with a mask of

makeup for a face. She wore a thin, clinging black dress

relieved by a string of phony pearls and a leather belt

with a big silver L on it as a buckle.

"Not fun," he murmured, "but maybe something

else."

"What else is there?" she said with a throaty laugh,

and stepped forward a little so the dim light from the

hallway behind lit her.

She had big, heavy breasts, and she showed them by

way of a low vee cut to her dress. Her legs were still

good where the short skirt revealed them to the darker

panty part of her pantyhose. Her skin was dark,

swarthy, and it made her nearly white hair stand out like

snow on a black stone.

"I can do you back there. at the end of the hall,"

She lifted the skirt. There was no crotch in the panty-

hose.

"I'll take a raincheck."

"Raincheck? What the hell is raincheck?"

Carter pulled her forward a little. "See that Audi

down there, the man behind the wheel?"

"Ja."

Carter told her what he wanted. As he did, he

unrolled two more fifties from the wad in his pocket and

curled them into her hand. "Okay?"

"Sure, okay. But for another fifty I give you a quick

one to boot."

62


62

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

Carter saw von Krumm and his blonde go by. "Just

do a number on him. That's enough. And rememtEr---

you just forget whatever you see. Go!"

He waited until she was across the street and headed

down the blcxk t*fore he moved out himself. He pulled

the Rommer and held it at his side as he moved from

doorway to doorway.

When the hooker crossed back toward the Audi,

Carter into a crouch and moved over the side-

walk to the line of parked cars.

The hooker was doing a real number. She had the

short skirt balled around her waist, the merchandise

pumping through the open window practically in the

guy's face.

"What are you, cheap?" she was taunting.

'Get lost, whore."

"Who you calling whore..

All of it no more than three seconds. Carter

yanked the passenger side and dived across

the seat.

"Head just like that," he hissed. "Don't move. Hands

on the wheel." For emphasis, he thumbed the hammer

back on the Rommen

"What's this, you her pimp?" the little man snarled.

The hooker took off. She hadn't seen a thing.

"Start the car, nice and easy."

"Fuck you."

Carter cradled the man's head with his free hand and

ground the barrel of the Rommer viciously into his ear.

"All right, all right!" He started the car and eased

slowly from tie curb.

'*Turn right," Carter barked. The man turned. Three

blocks farther on, Caner spotted a deep alley. "In here."

RUBY RED DEATH

63


63

He reached over and killed the headlights as they

turned. "Stop here!"

They stopped and Carter pocketed the keys. Practi-

cally in the same movement he orrned the door and

shoved the man out. He had barely sprawled, when

Carter had him up against the wall, his legs spread.

"Look, J don't know—

"Shut up."

A fist in the k.idneys brought a painful grunt but no

more words. A search gave him a fat wallet, a passport,

a credentials case, and a Heckler and Koch UP70 auto-

matic pistol.

Inside the credentials case was a badge and an II)

card identifying the man as Bruno Lunt, detective in-

spector, shield G4991411, St. Pauli District, Hamburg.

Caner shook his head in amazement. "What do the

police want with me?"

"Routine." The little man shrugged. "Picked you up

at the airport. Suspicious acting."

' 'On whose authority?" Carter asked.

"My own."

"You just lounged around the airport, SB)tted a suspi-

cious character, and followed me?"

' *Tlat's right."

"And what flight was I on?"

"Lufthansa 4113 from Belgrade ... " He clamped his

jaw shut, but it was late.

Carter gave him another good shot in the kidneys and

he went to the ground. The Killmaster put his foot on

the back of the man's neck, and ground.

"I'm the police, you fool!" the little man cried.

"I don't give a shit. Someone spotted me getting on

the flight in Belgrade and phoned ahead, right?"

64


64

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

No words, but a lot of wriggling. Using his hair,

Carter bounced the man's forehead a few times on the

bricks, then returned his foot to the back of his neck.

"Right, Bruno?"

"Yes, Jesus. yes .. ."

"Who?"

"I don't know. I never know. I just get a call from

Berlin now and then. It's always surveillance. I report, I

get an envelope."

Carter thought this over. It was a good guess that

little Bruno had already made Otto; von Krumm was far

from unknown. But that might not rx)se a problem if the

count moved out fast.

"Get up."

Bruno crawled to his feet. Carter pushed him to the

rear of the car and opened the trunk.

"What're you going to do?"

"More imm)rtant, Bruno, what are you going to do?"

Carter took his State Department II) out and waved it

in front of the little man's eyes just enough so he could

read the official seal and not the name.

"You might not know who those callers are in Berlin,

Bruno, but I think you can guess. I'm into something

big, bigger than anything you've ever known, 'Ihe re-

you're going to file is that you lost me tonight. You

got that?"

"Ja, ja."

"If I hear different, and I will hear, I'll have the West

German BfV on your ass like flies on shit. You got

"I lost you right outside the airport."

"And my friend?"

"What friend?"

RUBY RED DEATH

65


65

*Good. Stick to shaking down hookers, Bruno. One

of those phone calls will put you in a grave someday.

Get in the trunk."

The little man scrambled in and Carter shut the lid.

Back at his own car, he waited until von Krumm

came by again, and fell in behind the cream-colored

Mercedes.

He was big and he was tough, with a muscular build

and dark, faintly cruel good looks. He looked as if he

could chew nails and stomp any man twice his size for

relaxation.

There was something about the man that made you

look twice at him, something hard, impressive, and

commanding. There was an all-consuming demand in

his eyes, the straight, thin, unsmiling line of his mouth,

the almost catlike way the muscular six-foot-three-inch

form balanced lightly on the balls of his feet.

He leaned tiredly against the wall of the corridor as

he pressed the bell of Apartment 6D and then waited.

But not even the lines of exhaustion in his face could

mask the intensity of his concentrated attention. This

was a man who was used to waiting, but at the same

time, a man who could spring into action instantly, with

no perceptible lag, when action was required.

There were footsteps inside the apartment, A

hole in the door slid aside and a disembodied eye exam-

ined the man in the comdor. After a second or so, the

peephole snapped shut. Two locks ground noisily and

then the door swung OV*n on well-oiled hinges.

A woman stood framed in the doorway. Her age was

indeterminate. She could have been anything from

twenty-five to forty. Her grooming was perfect. nere

66


66

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

was no flaw that any man could have found in her

makeup. Her figure was a thing of beauty. But like the

man in the corridor, her eyes were tired. cynical, and

all-knowing. There were no illusions left in her.

"Come in," she said quietly.

She walked from the door, not bothering to close it.

He moved in tkhind her and closed it gently himself.

One shelf of books in a floor-to-ceiling bookcase

swung out, and from behind it she a velvet bag. He

joined her at the table as she carefully unwrapped the

bag. It and the overhead light danced off a

jewel-encrusted watch, two diamond rings, a necklace,

and a matching pair of diamond eamngs.

The man screwed a jeweler's loupe into his right eye

and carefully examined each piece.

"He wants thirty thousand," she said.

"Jmrx»ssible. I can't move them without completely

remounting every piece, and the stones in the rings will

have to recut."

He folded all the pieces carefully back into the velvet

bag and sliPIXd them into his pcxket. Then he took a

thick roll of bills from another pocket and counted out

twenty thousand American dollars in one pile. He put

another twenty one-hundred-dollar bills in a second pile

and pushed it across the table to her.

"Your commission.

"Latos called from Marseilles. He's got a big score."

The man shook his head. 'Tell him to hold off for a

while and take nothing else. I have to out of the

country for a week, perhaps longer."

She moved close enough to press her breasts against

his arm. "Can you stay tonight?"

"No," he replied, rising and moving toward the

RUBY RED DEATH

"But it's been so long," she pouted.

67


67

must leave the day after tomorrow, and there is

much to be done."

*Ihe door closed behind him she could argue.

On the street, he paused to light a small cigar. Be-

hind the match and the spiraling smoke, he checked

every car, every movements every window as far as he

could see.

Only when his animal instincts told him it was safe to

move did he cross the street and get behind the wheel of

an ancient Opal

Two blocks away, a tall, slender figure in black

leather sat astride a Triumph motorcycle txtween two

parked trucks. The eyes the tinted shield of the

helmet watched the Opal pull away.

Only after it had made a tum did the rider start the

machine and follow.

Count Otto von Krumm's flat was the penthouse of a

seven-story building overlooking the Herbertstrasse, the

famous "Street of Hariots."

"It warms me," he said, "to tr able to look down at

any hour of the day or night and see all that sin."

It was a cheerful apartment, with three guest rooms,

a master tEdrcK)rn suite, a dining room, and living

room.

They came into the living room, and Otto dismissed

the girl with a kiss on the forehead and a pat on the

tx)ttom. When she had gone, he turned to Carter and

laughed, as if ashamed of himself,

"What will you drink?"

"Nothing, thanks. You want me coherent, after all."

68


68

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

"Precisely. How do you expect to order your

thoughts without a drink? Scotch?"

"Thank you."

"A sober man is a depressing man." Von Krumm

walked to the bar and mixed it quickly. Then he pro-

duced four bottles with strange shapes and unfamiliar

labels. "I'm off scotch, myself. Too dull. Slivovitz with

a shot of absinthe. Gets the bl(xxi running." He rx»ured

and moved back to Carter with the glasses, handing

Carter the scotch. "To money and sin."

Carter grinned and drank.

"Now, then," von Krumm said, easing into the plush

sofa, "let's have it. I must wam you that my finances

are in an excellent state, so whatever you prom)se must

have aesthetic qualities as well as huge financial gain."

"First, is the castle at Bundesdorg suitable for

the first floor, or the dungeon?" von Krumm

chuckled.

'Te dungeon, actually. One, mayt* two. for at least

a week."

"It can be arranged. Will you need a keeper?"

Carter shook his head. "I'll bring my own."

"'Nuf said. Consider it done. What else?"

"Your father's old SS files. I want you to find a Nazi

who is dead but could be alive. He must be a man who

had access to vast loot and could have fled to South

America."

'That shouldn't be any problem. Then what?"

"You become that man."

Von Krumm started. "Oh, dear. He would have to be

close to seventy, All that makeup-—

'Otto," Carter interrupted, '*let me explain ..

RUBY RED DEATH

69


69

For the next hour Carter outlined his plan and what

they were going after, leaving out only Vadim Vinnick's

name. The more he talked, the more von Krumm be-

came interested. By the time the Killmaster was

through, the count was smiling like a cat eating cream,

and filling in details of his own.

"Lovely, lovely, Nicholas, a true tour de force! I'll

leave for the castle in the moming."

Carter sto«xf. He placed the wallet, credentials case,

revolver, and car keys he had taken from the Hamburg

cop on the table. Von Krumm leaned forward and

flipped open the credentials case.

reason for your delay?"

Carter nodded. "He does (Xid jobs for a Berlin

source. It's probably a central nurnt:w for all the East

bloc agencies who want surveillance done but don't

have a man of their own in place."

Von Krumm chuckled. "Certainly not in Hamburg. I

think the last man they had here fomicated himself to

death. What do you need?"

think I put the fear of hell in him, but it wouldn't

hurt to add an exclamation point to it."

"No probiem," Otto said. "I have a couple of friends

who can return all this to the gentleman and cause him

great distress at the same time. Anything else?"

"Yes. I was going to fly to Amsterdam tonight, but

they have another watcher at the airport. If you can get

me a clean car I'll drive over. Also, have someone drop

my rental at the airprt."

Von Krumm grabbed the phone and dialed. It was

answered at once. I ess than a minute later he hung up

and turned to Carter. "Do you know the Hansa Theatre

on Steindamm?"

70


70

"Yes."

' 'The doorman's name is Kurt. Trade keys with him.

He'll point his car out to you."

Suddenly the blonde, completely naked, appeared in

the doorway "Otto, when do you come to bed?"

"Now, my dear," von Krumm replied, and traded

glances with Carter. "Isn't she lovely?"

"A true gem."

"Sure you won't join us?"

"Otto, you have no morals."

*Ihe count was laughing as he moved to the bedroom

door. "Absolutely none, my friend. Absolutely none!"


SEVEN

At noon Carter descended to the lobby: The desk

clerk caught his eye and beckoned him over. It was a

message from Lorena: Room 712, the Americain.

Carter went to a phone booth, called the hotel, and

asked for room 712.

"How lunch?"

"Sounds marvelous," she replied.

"The is near you."

"Twenty minutes," she said breathlessly, and hung

up.

Carter dialed a second number and waited several

rings it was answered. lhere was no vocal re-

sponse from the other end of the line. just silence.

would like to speak to Mortimer, please."

"Who wants him?" came the gravelly reply.

"Nick."

72

"A minute."

71


72

"A minute."

It was almost five before the familiar voice came on

the line. "Mr. Carter, is it?"

"It is, Mortimer. How goes it?"

"The usual aches and pains but I manage to get

around. What can I do fer ya?"

"I have a job. It starts here and goes over the frontier.

Probably tüe a couple of weeks. Want to talk about it?"

"Love to. Business has been temble, it has, what

with this AIDS problem. All me girls are thinkin' of

tEcomin' secretaries, they are."

"At the place around six, Be dark by then."

GThat'll be dandy, Mr. Carter. We'll have us a pint."

Theers, mate," Carter said, and hung up.

He walked to the main canal and turned up Prinsen-

gracht to number Two. He passed the tunnel entrance to

the café's cellar that once led under the canal and was

used by seventeenth-century Catholics as a secret way

of getting together for worship. The Papeneiland

claimed to the oldest café in Amsterdam, tracing its

history back to its first coffin-maker owner who served

drinks on the side when business was slow.

"One, sir?"

"Two, for lunch," Carter replied.

He was shown to a table in the depths that needed the

candle on the wall to read the menu.

Lorena appeared right on time, looking a bit frumpy

in a scarf, a loose-fitting tweed coat, and knee-high

"Welcome to Amsterdam," she said, brushing his lips

with her own and taking the opposite chair:

"I'm having beer."

"Fine," she said with a nod.

RUBY RED DEATH

73


73

ne waiter brought a second beer and two newsp?.

per-sized menus. Lorena waited until he was gone be-

fore she SH)ke.

"Thank you for taking this on."

"l didn't have much choice. A very hard lady named

Ilse let me know that if I didn't, she was going to make

a corpse out of me."

"Ilse tends to exaggerate."

"Oh?" Carter said. "How well do you know her?"

"Not very well, but she is devoted to my brother."

"I know. And I don't think she was exaggerating."

"You're mad at me."

"A little," Carter admitted, "but I'll get over it. The

stakes are too high not to."

"How does he look?"

Carter decided to blunt. "Like any dying man with

the wolves nipping at his heels."

Lorena took it without blinking. "You had prob-

Caner told her the whole story At the part about

burying the woman in the snow he thought she might

crack, but she held up.

' Vlhen the situation is much worse. He has many en-

emies in the agencies of the other Eastern bloc coun-

tries."

' That's his problem," Carter said. "Mine is satisfying

his demands and getting that list. What about Fabian

"I've been following him for the last three days. He

is as wily as a fox. He has a house in the Boorstadt

district west of the city. Also two flats. One is in Dijk-

straat, off the New Market. lhe other is on Amstrel on

the canal. He never stays in the same place two nights in

74


74

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

a row. He also has four cars scattered around the city.

He constantly changes them."

"A very cautious man."

"Very. Ihe house and both flats are like fortresses.

He even keeps dogs in all of them. I managed to get

close to him twice on the street. He's armed at all times,

a pistol under his coat in the back and another in an

ankle holster. And I'd say from the looks of him he can

use them."

"What about business?"

"Legitimately, he's a memtkr of the Diamond Ex-

change, but he's rarely there. He also has a small shop

on Potterstraat where he buys and sells ... legally. It

probably makes a pittance compared to his fencing. The

shop is run by one of his mistresses."

"One?" Carter replied, cocking an eyebrow. "How

many does he have?"

Lorena smiled. "Four, besides the one in the shop.

He's like a pimp, only they don't sell their txxiies. They

are contacted by thieves all over EurolE and the Middle

East when the thieves make a score."

"Huzel picks up and pays off through his mis-

She nodded. S 'Huzel himself never actually meets the

thief. The plice can't touch him."

"Not an easy man to pin down," Carter murmured.

"But there must be a way. In the meantime, let's eat."

They ordered hutspot, a steaming tEef stew with

kale, potat(ES, and sausage, all of it washed down with

excellent beer. Over coffee they resumed the discussion.

'*How about routine?"

women contact Huzel if they have anything. He

picks all of his messages up from a service."

RUBY RED DEATH

75


75

'*My God, Lorena," Carter growled, "you're making

this as difficult as hell. From what you've told me, there

is no way of figuring any one place he might be."

She leaned forward, her voice scarcely a

g There is one thing. It's a little bit of a long shot,

but s"

"What is it?"

"He's flying out tomorrow morning. The first leg is

to Paris, but I did a little bribing and found out that he's

bouncing from plane to plane. Ihe last leg is from Lis-

bon to Buenos Aires."

Carter's eyes narrowed. "That means he's on his way

to meet our pigeon. Doesn't leave much time

"Nick, I think I've found two weaknesses, maybe the

only ones he has, and they could put him into the open.

Huzel is deathly afraid to fly."

"So?" Carter said, listening with only half an ear

now. his mind racing, üying to pick apart what Lorena

had already told him.

"As I said, it's a long shot, but ... well, the other

weakness is his mother."

"Lorena... "

"Let me finish. His rm»ther's ashes are interred in a

tomb in Christ's Church. That's in Ijmuiden, about ten

miles west of Amsterdam. I hit on it when I was going

over the file my brother sent me on Huzel."

"I went over that file," Carter said. "Wait a minute. I

remember now. He visits that tomb every Sunday after-

noon. But what good will that do us? Tomorrow is Fri-

day."

"I was out there, Nick. I had a cup of tea with the

caretaker, told him I was a writer doing a story on ceme-

teries. I got the conversation around to people who reg-

76


76

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

ularly tend the graves. Huzel comes so often that the

caretaker remembers him. Nick, he remembers several

other times—other than Sundays—when Huzel came

out to the grave."

Carter's eyes were wide. "You mean he's so afraid of

flying that he gcrs out and talks to Momma before he

takes off?"

Lorena nodded. 'The dates match with the travel

record we have in his file for the last six months. It's a

long shot, but... "

"But it's better than nothing," Carter said, dropping

some bills on the table. s 'I'll call you at your hotel."

Lorena grasped him by the elbow. "Why don't you

just come by?"

"A lot to do, but I'll try." He gave her a quick kiss on

the cheek as they parted in front of the restaurant.

He took a water taxi on the canals as far as he could

go toward the western part of the city. He got off at

Leidsestraat, the wide boulevard that led to the highway

into the west country. He found a cab idling at the curb

when he climbed the stone steps from the water's edge

to the street.

"Ijmuiden, Christ's Church cemetery."

Twenty minutes later he gave the driver some bills to

wait, and walked the old cemetery until he found the

Huzel tomb. Then he walked the checking

out every tree and finding the caretaker's shack.

Basically the area was level, but there was a rise

about forty yards from the entrance to the tomb. There

were a few trees and two large grave markers that could

used for concealment.

It would have to be done from there. Anywhere on

RUBY RED DEATH

77


77

the road itself or the approaches to the tomb would be

t(k) open.

He returned to the taxi and had the driver troll the

streets of the village until he spotted a long-term parking

lot beside a grocery co-op. One look told him that it was

also used as a commuter lot for the bus stop into Am-

sterdam. The coin machines would belch out tickets for

up to a week's duration.

"Where to now?" the driver asked.

S 'Back to the city," Carter replied, checking his

watch. "Just drop me a little east of the Damrak."

The driver's eyebrows shot up a bit, but he flirpt

his windshield back on and slipped the taxi into

gear.

Carter could almost read the man's thoughts. There

was no way a local could figure out a foreigner's tastes.

The well-dressed gentleman had visited a fine old ceme-

tery, and then wants to be taken to the red-light district!

ne seat of sex in Amsterdam is not as loud or as

garish as the Reeperbahn of Hamburg, but it is just as

varied and every bit as alive.

Twice Carter almost got lost. The little shows that

advertised sex aids, live sex, Ixep shows, and the eerily

crimson-lighted windows with scarcely dressed women

were so much alike that it was difficult to find a land-

At last he spotted the sign and turned into the Yum-

Yum Club. A king's ransom in guilders got him by the

bored matron at the doon Through dingy velvet curtains

he stepped into the dimly lit main room of the club.

The show was on. On a slightly elevated stage, a

young man and a not-so-young woman were locked in

78


78

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

anything but love. It was all camal to the soft accompa-

niment of flutes and violins.

"You like a table down front? Good to see all the

action." He was shorter than Carter but twice as wide,

Chinese, and looked a little like a young Mao Ze-Dong

with muscles.

"No, the bar will be fine," Carter replied. "I have

business with Mr. Potts. Tell him that Nick is here."

"I will do that."

Carter was halfway through a stein of tEer when the

Chinese returned.

"This way, please."

Carter was led up a flight of stairs, down a corridor,

and up to a door marked Office. He could easily have

found the way himself, but the Chinese lcxyked like a

man who liked to do his duty.

Carter rapped on the door and a voice like velvet

said, "Enter."

The office was like day compared to the club tEIow's

night. It was a pleasant air-conditioned room that of-

fered Oriental rugs, a mahogany reading table with an

assortment of newspapers and magazines, all in Dutch,

a mahogany settee, and, in the corner and protected by a

desk, an almond-eyed girl with porcelain-smooth off-

white skin and straight black hair. She wore a bright

print dress and an exotic silver necklace, and she fin-

ished a line of typing before she glanced up.

"You are Mr. Carter?"

"I am,"

Apparently there was no intercom because she rose,

smoothed her skirt. at a dark-stained door. She

opened it and. coming up on one fcx»t and showing nice

legs, stuck her head around the edge.

RUBY RED DEATH

79


79

Carter didn't hear what was said, but the result was

satisfactory. Pivoting on the same leg she canie to rest,

the door swinging wide and her balance regained. Her

smile and shy nod were his invitation to enter.

He smiled his way past her and entered hell.

Mortimer Potts's inner sanctum was chaos, litter and

rubbish piled ft»r-to-ceiling across the whole room. A

huge desk sat in the middle of it all, and the

desk, Mortimer Potts.

He was a little, thin man, mx»rly dressed in a baggy

suit, a soiled shirt, and a frayed red tie. A few wisps of

stringy hair flapped about on top of his head like rem-

nants dropped from someone else's comb.

S'Mr. Carten gar, it's good to see ya again!" He

extending his hand, and Carter moved forward to

shake it.

It was his smile that made Mortimer Potts lovable,

His lips were thin like his wrinkled face, but when they

parted, revealing a dentist's nightmare, his grin lit up

the world.

"Mortimer, you haven't changed a bit. Haven't seen

you in a year or more and I swear it's the same suit."

"'Course it is! Gar, I buy a new suit and the tax

people'll say I'm makin' money, they will!" He swept

old magazines, newspapers, and a few mouse droppings

off a chair. "Have a seat, lad. Jolly good of you to bring

some business me ways Mr. Carter. Times has been

bad."

Carter sat. "How's Miriam?"

"Died, she did. Ihree months ago, p€X)r thing."

"Three months ago? And you haven't remarried

yet?" Monimer had a way of picking wealthy, fat,

shrewish wives, but he always seemed to outlive them.

80


80

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

To Carter's knowledge, the dearly departed Miriam had

been numtrr six.

"Ah, I think them days is over fer 01' Mortimer. I

just ain't young like I used ta be." He rubbed his hands

together and flashed another wide grin. "But enough of

me sorry troubles. What will ya be into this time?"

"First," Carter said, "can you be away for a couple of

weeks

"Oh, lord. yes. Got me that Chinee brother and sis-

ter. They run the place now, really. And honest? ney

account fer every What's up?"

Carter told him on a need-to-know basis.

"An' ya want me to stay with him in this bloody

castle?" Potts exclaimed when Carter had finished.

"Why not just kill the bugger?"

Tan't do that. I may need information out of him

along the way. I'll set up communications from wher-

ever I am to you, and you get out of him what I need."

"Ahs an' ya know I'm good at that," Potts cackled.

'*Wthen do ya want to snatch him?"

Carter stood and began pacing, ignoring the debris in

his path. "That's the problem. We've only got about

fifteen hours."

"Ah, dear me. What are we gonna need?"

"An ambulance, or a closed-in vehicle with red

crosses that could be mistaken for one. It should look

like it comes from a private hospital."

"Go on," Potts replied, scratching on a pad.

"A nwtorbike, old, something we can just dump in a

canal. Three uniforms, a driver, nurse, and intern. Some

medical palxrs showing he has a rare disease .. v"

"Terminal?" Potts asked, glancing up from his notes.

s 'No, but life-threatening would be good."

RUBY RFD DEATH

"No problem. Go on. Passports?"

81


81

(93 of 212)

+ 100%

RUBY RED DEATH

"No problem. Go on. Passports?"

81

"I should think we can use our own," Carter replied,

"but you might add medical identification."

'*Very well. How will you take him?"

g That's the sticky part," Carter sighed. "He's a very

nasty character, has a reputation of shooting people

when they get too near him. I'll need an air gun, power-

ful and accurate."

"A pellet?"

'Or dart. We don't want to have to perform any sur-

gery to get the l*llet out."

"That, of course, will be the hardest part, but I think

I can do it. Where are you stayin' T'

Carter almost gave him his own hotel, then remem-

berede "The Americain, rcx)tn Seven-twelve. Don't use

my name, just ask for the room."

*'The nurse?"

"Yes."

Potts stood. "I've got a lot to do. I'll call as soon as

it's done."

At the Americain, Carter the service stairs to

the tenth floor, then walked down to the seventh.

"Yes?" came a whisper in response to his knock.

"It's me."

The door was at once and he slid inside.

"I ordered a tray of sandwiches and some beer."

Carter kissed her lightly and sliprrd out of his coat.

They sat side by side on the sofa and ate.

"You went to the cemetery?"

"Yes. It's not but it will do. Do you think

that old caretaker would think it (Xid if you showed up

for coffee in the moming?"

82


82

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

"No, 1 doubt it. Why?"

Carter dropped a small vial in her lap. "Two of those

in his coffee. He'll go out like a light and stay out for

about three hours. Chances are when he wakes up he'll

think he just made a boor of himself and fell asleep on

you."

"Gocxi. What then?"

He explained the whole plan to her, and where they

would be taking Huzel once they had him.

scan we trust this Mortimer chap?"

Carter ncxided. "Honor among thieves. If Huzel

wanted to put the snatch on me, Mortimer would be

more than happy to oblige. But since it's the other way

around and I'm paying him first, he'll see it through to

the end, guaranteed."

He finished the rest of his sandwich and sat back to

light a cigarette.

"How do we work it once we get to Argentina?"

Lorena asked, clearing away the tray and settling in be-

side him.

"I have another friend. His name is Otto von

Krumm. You'll go in with him as his daughter. Otto will

bc posing as an ex-Nazi. The two of you will put the

fear of God into Glaskov. H0EEfully, between you,

Otto, and myself, we'll have him so confused he won't

know what to do."

'VI don't understand .. e"

"You will. I'll go through the whole thing with you

tomorrow night at the castle. In the meantime, come

"I thought you'd never ask," she said with a laugh,

and slid across the sofa into his arms.

She put her arms around him, and her warm, firm

RUBY RED DEATH

83


83

breasts, her long thighs, her lips, and her all

seemed to press against him at once. When he touched

her he felt her quiver like a thoroughbred. They clasped

each other furiously in a tangle of arms, legs, hands,

and lips. She lay back on the sofa and let him take her

with her head hanging over the edge and one foot on the

floor, like a schck)lgirl furtively making love in her par-

ents' house.

When they finally came back to their senses, she

laughed at the sight of her torn skirt, her panties crum-

pled into a ball on the flc»r, her unfastened bra and her

sweater pulled up around her neck.

"Shall we go into the bedroom and act like adults this

time?" she asked, grinning.

"Not nearly as much fun," he chuckled.

Then the phone rang. She answered it and handed it

to Carter.

'Got everything, Mr. Carter. Right down to the little

dart all diplkd and ready."

"Good work, Mortimer. Pick up the nurse in front of

the Americain at six in the morning. Where's the motor

"In the alley behind the club. Key's on a string in the

gas tank."

"See you then." Carter hung up. He turned to Lor-

ena. "I'll go out very early and make sure the two back

gates of the place are sealed off so we get no unwanted

mourners from that end. When you get there with Mor-

timer, go straight to the caretaker's cottage and make

sure he's taken care of."

She nodded her understanding and Carter stood, and

then frowned when she saw him righting his clothes.

84


84

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

"You're not staying the night?"

Tan't. I'll stay in my own hotel. And sleep."

"Damn," she murmured, "just like a man."

The kiss at the door almost made him change his

mind.


EIGHT

It was still dark when Carter checked out with his

small flight bag and took a taxi to the Yum-Yum Club.

In the rear of the club he found the motorbike, a big

BMW.

One light rap on the door of the club and it was

opened by the bulky Chinese. Wordlessly, Carter was

handed a set of leathers and a helmet. He changed right

there in the tiny hallway and stuffed his clothes in the

bag. As he was leaving, he traded the bag for a long,

leather-covered case. This he strapped to the BMW and

kicked it into life.

Minutes later he was in the western part of the city

fighting a slight drizzle and heavy fog. The fog, he

thought, would be both good and bad. Hopefully it

wouldn't deter Huzel from talking to his Momma.

In Ijmuiden, he located the long-term parking lot and

fed coins into the meter until he had enough slips for a

86

85


86

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

week's parking. Back on the bike to the cemetery and

church.

Everything was quiet and there was no light on in the

caretaker's cottage. He went directly to the spot he had

picked out, and hid the case containing the air rifle and

the case among the stones. Then he jogged around the

perimeter to the two rear entrances. As quietly as possi-

ble, he closed the gates and hung the No Admittance

signs on both of them.

Ihe fog was still heavy but the gray light of dawn

was valiantly trying to penetrate it as he rode back to the

village of Ijmuiden. He located a small roadside café

and sat at a front table by the window and had breakfast.

He was on a second cup of coffee when he spotted

the ambulance go past. His watch said a little after nine

o'clock.

He paid for the breakfast and rode the bike back to

the cemetery. At the main entrance he saw no sign of the

ambulance, but Mortimer, in a pair of blue coveralls and

a heavy jacket, was moving litter around with a rake.

Carter rode on through the cemetery to the care-

taker's cottage and honked twice. The door opened and

Lorena's head popped out.

"Done," she murmured.

Carter nq:xlded and wheeled the BMW around to a

lean-to in the rear of the cottage. He killed the engine

and jogged through the stones to his place of conceal-

ment.

When he had the air rifle out of its case and assem-

bled, he lifted one of the two darts that Mortimer hiul

supplied and pulled off the plastic cap over the point.

Then he crimped the fine plastic flanges and slid it into

the firing chamber. Next came the C02 cartridge. When

RUBY RED DEATH

87


87

its head was pierced, he heard the slight whoosh of air

release that would fire the dart. Carefully. he removed

the second dart's tip and set it on the gravestone beside

him. With the scope sight and the short range, he was

sure he wouldn't need it, but it was there just in case.

Then, resisting the desire for a cigarette, Carter

wormed his way down between the stones to wait.

The moment he heard the car the Killmaster became

instantly alert. Through the stones he could see the Opal

moving through the fog. It turned into the gate, passing

Mortimer without slowing. About thirty feet from the

tomb the Opal stopped and Huzel got out.

He was a handsome devil, Carter thought, if you

liked them mean. He would be a great success with

ladies who preferred their sex swift and brutal.

Huzel paused beside the car, his eyes taking in every

tree and stone. He took a cigarette from a black case and

The man, Carter thought, was like an animal, always

wary, alert. sniffing the air for danger.

At last Huzzl was apparently satisfied. He moved

forward.

Carter's eyes drifted from Huzel to Mortimer. He had

abandoned his rake and was closing the gate. He hung

the No Admittance sign and was gone. With the fog it

was doubtful that they would have any more visitors,

but the closed gate would provide some insurance.

Huzel was almost to the tomb now, a ring of keys in

his hand, When he reached the iron gate of the tomb's

door, he stopped and sliP}Hi one of the keys into the

lock.

Carter put the man's neck in the cross hairs of the

88


88

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

sight. He wasn't moving. It was the simplest shot in the

world.

He squeezed the trigger.

The little dart entered the side of Huzel's neck and

hung there like an enlarged bee sting.

The carotid is the principal artery of the neck; it is as

thick as a garden hose. As Huzel felt the sting he jerked

his head back. His hand moved toward the holster, and

his heart pumped with dispassionate efficiency. Aneries

carry blood from the heart to the tissues. Ihis one went

straight—that critically short distance—to his brain.

The Killmaster was reaching for the second dart,

when Huzel pitched forward. He had barely hit the

ground when Carter whistled.

Everything had tren coordinated.

Lorena sprinted from the caretaker's cottage. She

opened the front gate just as Mortimer, in the ambu-

lance, drove out of the trees. Lorena didn't pause but

ran right to the back gates and opened them.

Carter methodically went through Huzßl's pockets,

transferring everything he found to his own.

"One shot?" Mortimer asked.

"That's all it took," Carter grunted.

Together they hefted Huzel to the rear. When the

doors were they sat him up and undressed him.

When he was dressed again in a hospital gown and a

heavy terry-cloth rot*, he was strapped onto the gurney

and covered.

Lorena appeared at the rear of the ambulance. "Care-

taker's still out, no cars on the road."

Carter produced the two rings of keys he had taken

from Huzel's pcxkets. 'Ihe larger ring held the keys to

his flats and house and probably his shop. Keys on the

RUBY RED DEATH

89


89

(101 of 212)

+ 100%

RUBY RED DEATH

smaller ring txlonged to the fleet of cars he used.

89

Caner passed the car-ring to Lorena along with the

parking lot stamps, and then turned to Mortimer. The

man had already iEeled off the windbreaker, flannel

shirt, and coveralls. Beneath them he wore the white

smock and pants of a driver or orderly.

"Drive to the café the church and have cof-

fee," Carter instructed. "Lorena, as soon as you leave

Huzel's car in the parking lot, head for the ambulance."

Ihey both n«ided.

' 'Now," Carter said, "where do we rendezvous?"

"At Weesp, in the parking tot of the schml," Lorena

answered.

'Good enough," Carter said. "LA's move!"

Mortimer headed back toward the village first. Two

minutes later, Lorena followed in Huzßl's car. Two

minutes after that, Carter fired up the motorcycle and

headed for Amsterdam.

Carter felt a clammy sweat roll down his back as he

parked the bike and slung the courier's bag over his

shoulder. It was just past rxxm. He had already gone

through Huzel's country house and one of the two flats

in the city. He hadn't found what he was looking for in

either place.

Did Huzel keep the records of his foreign customers

in his head? Did he rnemorize every address, contact

methcxi, the telephone numtxr of everyone he bought

and sold from?

Carter hoped to strike pay dirt here, in the second

flat.

ne houses were all in a row, exactly alike, stretch-

ing from one canal to another. He located the

90


90

(102 of 212)

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

and entered the hall. smells assailed his nostrils

and sornewhere a radio played jazz.

He tc»k the steps to the third floor two at a time and

attacked the I(Xk. The fifth key on the ring or:rned the

Ihe were closed. Carter found the light switch

by feel and flimxd it. He was in a rectangular room

with windows on both sides. Scatter rugs partially cov-

ered the bare floors.

He lifted each of the rugs. No safe.

There was a cluttered desk in one comer. It took him

five minutes to go through the on top and rifle

the drawers. He found nothing that would help him

down the road.

ne t:ædroom was nearly square in shalk, with an

alcove that held a stall shower but no tub. A double bed

with no fc»tboard stood against one wall, a mahogany

highboy against another. A small mirrored vanity

pied part of the third wall. Above the vanity mirror was

another, square mirror, slightly recessed into the wall.

Carter went through every drawer and lifted the

paintings on the walls.

Nothing.

ne kitchen, which was entered through the second

living room door, was just a kitchen, rather long but

narrow, and had no outside dc»r. The sink was yellow-

stained and with an open space and a garbage

pail trlow, and cabinets above. The stove was a three-

bumer with a small removable oven; the refrigerator

was ancient-looking and noisy.

Back in the living room office, Carter lit a cigarette

and made his mind work. It was possible that Huzel

RUBY RED DEATH

91


91

kept his illegal records in the safe of his legal shop in

the old town.

Possible, Carter thought, but not probable.

If the man was so wary about everything else, he

would esFcially paranoid about anything on paFr

that might send him to jail.

And the jewels.

The illegal jewels he was fencing had to be some-

where. Lorena had said that Huzel had made five

pickups in the time she had followed him. He would not

have had the time to resell those pickups.

Carter wandered back into the tEdrr»m.

Then it hit him. The mirrored vanity. Why a second

mirror, and why was it recessed into the wall?

He used a nail file from the vanity on the crack

around the mirror. Near tl•w bottom right-hand comer,

he hit an obstacle. He heard a click as he pushed harder,

and the mirror swung outward.

Carefully. he inspected the safe.

He found the maker's name, and closed his eyes for a

moment while he dusted off the files of his memory. He

recalled the system and it took his trained fingertips fif-

teen minutes to find the combination.

Ihe opening wasn't large but the safe was deep and

the whole of the back was filled with neat packets of

currency tx)und together with strips. And if the

new one-hundred-dollar bill on the top of the brick

Carter lifted out was an indicator, he estimated that,

give or take a few grand, he was Jcx)king at fifty thou-

sand dollars.

•mat figured, Caner mused. Huzel was in a cash

business.

Underneath the bills, he found a tray of diamonds

92


92

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

and two velvet bags of miscellaneous jewels.

Now the safe was empty and he had still struck out.

Then he remerntEred the manufacturer and a particu-

lar added attraction to this model.

Five minutes later he located the pull release that

qrned a panel in the back of the safe. In the indentation

t*hind the panel was a flat logbook. One glance and

Carter knew he had what he wanted. It was all in ccxied

symtK)ls, but easy to decipher if the doing it

knew Huzel's business.

The jewels and cash he put in a pillowcase. It and the

book went into his courier bag. He closed the safe,

made sure everything was in place, and moved quickly

back to the street.

He rode to the Yum-Yum Club and entered through

the rear door. The tEautiful Oriental girl was in her of-

fice on the second floor. Carter dromrd the pillowcase

on the desk.

"Put this away for Mr. Potts. He'll tr back in a week

or so.

Back on the bike, he wound his way through late-after-

noon traffic to the southern edge of the city. Fifteen

minutes later he was coasting through the small village of

Weesp. He was just past the old school when tlr ambu-

lance pulled from the parking lot and fell in trhind him.

A mile outside the village he turned left into a narrow

tractor lane. Two hundred yards in front of him he could

see the Amstel River.

He up and pulled his feet up until he was

standing on the cent in a semi-crouch.

feet from the riverbank he straight into

the air.

RUBY RED DEATH

93


93

The bike sailed out over the river for several feet

before it fell into the water and sank out of sight.

Carter came to earth and rolled to his feet. Lorena

had the rear door of the ambulance open. He piled in

and at once began peeling off the leathers.

"You found it?" she asked.

Carter nodded. "Yeah. Mortimer?"

"I've just made you a moderately wealthy man."

'*Music to me ears," the man chuckled. and moved

the van back toward the highway.

The road switchbacked for about eight miles and then

the lights of the frontier posts gleamed through the fog.

A long straight street led directly to the Dutch side.

Potts dimmed his headlights and joined the line of vehi-

cles waiting to processed.

ne Dutch mrder guard barely glanced at Potts and

waved them through perfunctorily.

It was a different story a hundred yards farther on at

the German gate.

A stem-looking border guard poked his head through

the window.

Potts handed over the medical papers and their pass-

m)rts. ne guard carried the documents to a lighted win-

dow where a colleague sat.

"Don't sweat it if they check us," Mortimer mur-

mured. flows like the river Nile the other way

into the Netherlands and Amsterdam. but from Amster-

dam into Germany it's another story."

He was right. A minute later they were bundled out

94


94

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

of the ambulance and it was searched. They and the

medical bags were searched.

"You are the doctor?"

"Yes," Carter replied.

ne guard gestured toward Huzel's blanket-covered

form on the gurney. "What is wrong with him?"

"A severe case of hydroxia pormangalia.••

S 'Eh?" the man said, taking a slight step backward.

"Is that a communicable disease?"

"Not at all," Carter replied. "He needs rest and con-

stant stFvision. We are taking him to the clinic in

Essen."

The papers were handed back to Potts, the gate was

lifted, and they were waved through.

On the other side, Lorena tapped Carter's shoulder,

'*What is hydroxia pormangalia?"

"Damned if I know," Carter chuckled.

There was no speed limit on the German side even

though they were traveling a secondary road and not on

the autobahn. In spite of the road conditions,

car after car, usually German, sped past them. Carter

shook his head. He was forced by circumstances to take

so many chances, he couldn't understand anyone taking

risks who didn't need to.

The German department of highways had apparently

never heard of rock salt or didn't believe in using it.

Although the roads were plowed, only the top layer of

snow was off, and the surface was covered with a thick,

rutty layer of ice and hard-packed snow.

"Blo«ly idiotss" Potts groused as a big Mercedes

RUBY RED DEATH

95


95

flew by them, fishtailing. the driver nearly losing it.

"It's getting close." Carter said. "Not much over a

mile."

It was exactly a mile. Carter pointed and Potts spun

the wheel.

'*My God," Lorena exclaimed, her eyes peering up-

ward through the windshield. "It looks like a Gothic

movie set!"

Carter chuckled. '*It does at that, doesn't it."

Potts wasn't happy. "I got to stay there? The place is

probably bloody haunted."

Otto Krumm opened the ma.ssive oak door just as

Carter stepped from the rear of the ambulance with Lor-

ena close him.

But it was a new Otto. His hair was silver and his

face was aged, with sunken eyes and wrinkles

over wrinkles. Even his posture was different, his

usually erect body seeming to be shrunken inside his

clothes. The voice when he spoke was wheezy, asth-

matic.

"What do you think?"

"Fantastic," Carter replied, nodding his appreciation

of the total make-over.

Von Krumm put out his hand. "So glad you had a

safe trip, Herr Huzel. Allow rne to introduce myself. SS

General Erwin Bittrich. I thought it txst that I outrank

the alias of our prey."

Carter smiled. "A wise decision. General." He ncxl-

ded to Lorena. '*Your daughter."

Von Krumm turned to the woman and extended his

arms. "Magda, my darling," he cackled, "it's so good to

see you again after all these years!"

96


96

+ 100%

NICK CARTER

"When yer bloody family reunion is over," Mortimer

Potts said from the rear of the ambulance, 'Show about a

hand with this garbage?"

When Huzel was established in the dungeon room

that had prepared for him, the four of them re-

turned to a small study on the first flcx»r.

Von Krumm explained the arrangement to Potts. "He

has everything he needs down there. You can feed him

via the dumbwaiter, and communicate with him on the

intercom."

"He never has to see my face, then?" Potts asked.

"Never. There are three phones in the house, two in

the upstairs bedrooms, one here. Nick can reach you

direct if he has need of more information."

"l can also use you as a dummy," Carter added, "if I

have to make Glaskov think I'm getting prices."

Potts frowned. "How do I get the bloke to talk?"

"Easy," Caner replied. "Give him a choice ... talk or

starve. I go up to Frankfurt and fly out tomorrow You

two follow on the day after. Otto, can you have papers

ready for Lorena by then?"

ne count shrugged. 'SNO problem. We'll be traveling

with Swiss passports, a professor of law and his daugh-

Carter stood, tapping the book he had taken from

Huzel's safe. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a lot of

deciphering and memorizing to do."

He left the room. Mortimer retumed to the ambu-

lance to fetch their bags. Von Krumm turned to Lorena

and put his hand on her knee.

"You are remarkably beautiful, a very sensuous

woman, my dear. I'm looking forward to the next week.

RUBY RED DEATH

97


97

I am sure we shall get along fine." His voice no longer

creaked with age.

Lorena lifted his hand and placed it on his own knee.

"I'm sure we will, Count von Krumm, if we tX)th re-

memtrr who we are... Daddy. "


NINE

Ihe flight was long and boring, a Lufthansa out of

Frankfurt nonstop to Rios He'd seen the movie twice

before on other flights, the food. even in first class, still

tasted like half-cooked plastic, and the foghornlike

snoring of the passenger seated behind him kept Carter

from getting much-needed sleep. Even the attentions of

the comely and well-endowed flight attendant did little

to ease the boredom. The 5:30 A.M. landing came none

too soon.

Customs gave him no trouble with the Fabian Huzel

passport, and less than an hour after landing he was in a

suite at the Leme Palace.

He direct-dialed the Rio office of Amalgamated Press

and Wire Services, Buck Waters's pnvate number. He

let it ring three times and hung up. He dialed again, let

it ring once, and hung up again.

Then he dialed the switchboard operator. "I'd like to

98

RUBY RFD DEATH

99


224